Sep 29, 2009

Parents always get panic when we find out that our love one’s head is a bit warmer than usual. OMG, she’s having a fever. What should I do? But, we don’t need to worry when this fever attacks. Fever is a sign given by our bodies to tell us that it’s fighting a disease or illness inside. If we have a good immunity, this ‘war’ should end in a short time. But we also can help our bodies by taking a right medicine. But the most important thing we need to know before we give any kind of medicine is that we need to know better about this fever and it’s symptoms first.

Our immunity systems will fight any kind of disease better on a certain temperature. That’s the reason why we get this fever, because body is actively working to chase this disease away on a higher temperature. Body will treat different condition in a different way too. When the air is cold, the veins will shrink into a certain condition in order to reduce the release of body heat inside out. On this situation, body will start to shiver and produce more heat from inside the muscle.

On the other side, when the air is hot, the veins will get wider. So that the sweet gland will start to produce sweat in order to help body cooling the body heat down. In a special case which is when the body has infected by some kind of viruses, the Leukocytes will fight them back. In this process, body will start to increase the heat and we need this heat to slow the virus’ growth down; also to stimulate our immunity system as well. We call this condition as fever.

For the accuracy, we must use a thermometer to get the exact temperature from our bodies. Kids considered having a fever when the temperature has reached more than 37.5°C. Then we can take some medical actions to cure it.

But, before we take our kids to the hospital we can still try to cure it ourselves at home. These are few simple ways that parents can do at home.
First, if the body heat is too high, we need to reduce it by giving our kids a right medicine to reduce fever, such as Paracetamol.
Second, we can also reduce the heat by placing a wet and cold towel on our kid’s forehead.
We must prevent the fever from getting higher and higher because it can damage the kid’s brain in the future.

We must understand that medicine to reduce fever is not work to cure the fever itself. It can only help the body to decrease the heat and help kids to feel more comfortable. So, make sure we use it wisely and find the right medicine to cure the fever right away.

The main effect of fever actually is dehydration; when body start to sweat and urinate a lot. To prevent this, we need to make sure that our kids have enough water or milk during fever. We can also give them some soup or any other gravy foods.

Body releases sweat and urine to reduce the body heat back to normal. But don’t forget to change the wet clothes right away to prevent kids from shivering back.

You may not find this information as a new one. But I think its worth to write on. Because the more we know about fever and the symptoms, the more we as parents learn about how to prevent and cure it as well. No more panic because we already know what to do when this fever attacks. Get well soon, dear.

Sep 24, 2009

I still can remember every change I had during my pregnancy time about 2.5 years ago. There are a lot of uncomfortable changes that happen to a pregnant woman during her pregnancy, especially in the last three months.

The first thing I can remember is the skin’s change. Of course every pregnant woman has her own kind of skin change and you can not find the exactly similarities between two pregnant women. But there is a same reason among all of these women that I could happen due to the change of certain hormone from the beginning of pregnancy time.

First, we have Melasma or Kloasma.
We can find some dark-brown spots around the cheeks, noses, foreheads and chins of some pregnant women. Some also call this symptom as “Mask of Pregnancy” because it only appears during pregnancy times and disappears soon after the delivery. We can use certain kind of cosmetics to hide this spots but we need to make sure that those creams or cosmetics are totally safe for the baby inside the womb.

The second, we also have acnes.
A pregnant woman tends to have an oily and sensitive skin also. So, do not forget to clean your face after wearing make-up or any other kind of cosmetics especially after you do some activities out side the house. If you find those acne has become worse, you can ask your obstetrician to give you a special kind of medicine that suitable and safe for pregnant woman. Avoid using a general medicine because it may harm your baby inside and consume more fruits and vegetables to get more of vitamin C.

The last one is stretch marks.
I really hate this one because it usually become so itchy and you can stop your arms from scratching your belly. This can cause many ugly scratch marks on your skins. I still have some of those marks on my belly right now .
Those silvery lines usually appear on our belly during pregnancy because the skin must stretch itself up to accommodate the size of your belly that grows bigger every time. You can also find it somewhere around your thighs and breasts as well. I can show you a picture I found from the internet. As you can see, her belly is full of stretch marks already. I bet she feels itchy too around there.

Actually, there is no perfect solutions to prevent or even to cure this marks and make them vanished for good. They will always stay there for the rest of your life. Well, maybe you can try to hide it by doing cosmetics-surgery or a laser treatment. But these can not erase those marks perfectly also. They’re still there hiding in a different color. For me myself, I accept those marks and still keep them as a sign of that amazing pregnancy time I had, when you carried a tiny human being inside you all the time. If you do not care about losing your hip silhouette and your ankle as well, then why bother about some marks that actually hidden behind your shirt anyway?

But there are still some clues to prevent those marks which you can do along your pregnancy time. You can start by maintain your weight well. You can also maintain your skin’s moist by applying moisturizing creams or olive oil especially on your belly. It can also reduce the itchy sensation and prevent you to scratch your skin as well. This is important if you don’t want those marks stay on your skins forever. And I can tell you that it’s not easy. You can not defeat the temptation to scratch your belly all the time. And that is why I also scratch a lot

But it’s all worth it. Because soon you will have your baby in your arms and forget about those marks somehow. And like I said before, who cares about those marks? I can keep them as signs of memories from my pregnancy times, right? And that’s all for now. Next time we will talk about the changes we have around feet and legs.

Sep 18, 2009

A shy kid usually rejects any kind of attention they got from other people; act cowardly and hard to trust anyone else. She/he chooses to shy away from everything outside her/his little world. This is not a good behavior and can also affect their characters when they grow up in the future. I think we as parents need to know more of this behavior and try to find a clue in order to help our kids from their shy-world for good.

There are a few reasons why our kids become so shy, parents.
The first reason is perhaps our kids are only having some insecurity feelings that they usually get when they enter a new area or a new condition. That is nothing wrong with this feeling. Some kids can get around on a new area so easily while some others find it so hard. As long as they can learn and try to get around then parents have nothing to worry about. It’s only a matter of time before they could mix with the new area. And when they can place themselves in the new area, soon the shy behavior will vanish itself.

The second reason is because sometimes we as parents have become so over protected to our children. I know a woman who always scream at her boy telling him no to touch anything or not to do anything. I can understand her feeling a little bit because sometimes I have the same feeling also. It’s the feeling we have as parents who want to prevent our kids from doing something that could harm themselves. And this is a natural feeling. There is nothing wrong with it. But what we should analyze here is that kids always attract to something new and they do this based on their curiosities. And in the end, these trial and error activities will teach them something new. So, parents need to give their kids some spaces to explore and to learn. We can watch them in the process to prevent any bad thing happen but we should avoid being so over protected.

The other reason why our kids become so shy is because sometimes parents always criticize them a lot. The expert said that too much critics could kill our kid’s self-confidence. This lack of confidence can lead her/him to become a shy kid and afraid of doing anything. They have a feeling that somehow they will make something wrong and get criticized by their moms and dads. Finally, they choose to hide in their own worlds and not doing anything at all. And the worst thing is about to happen because in the end the can not choose which one is right and which one is wrong because they are too afraid to try on.

The next important reason is “bullying”. Parents should be aware with this situation.

Lots of kids nowadays find it’s really fun to bully other kids in their neighborhoods.

Those bad kids usually choose a certain kind of kids to bully on, like the weak one or the calm one. These bullies can bring a bad effect on their victims. They can become so introvert and turn to be cowards. In some case the experts find that the victims can also turn to be so rude and bad to other kids themselves.

So parents need to pay a deep attention to our kids’ behaviors. If we notice any differences, we need to ask them wisely about what’s happened to make sure that they do not experience any bullies from their other friends. And if they do, parents should find a way out of this problem as soon as possible because these bullies can also damage our kids’ characters in the future.

The last reason is that kids can also imitate this shy behavior from their own environments. For example, if one happy-cheerful little girl spends most of her time playing with several other sad-gloomy little girls, then sooner or later she herself will become a sad and gloomy little girl too. Why so? Because all of her friends are so gloomy then she will find a way to get connect with her gloomy friends well. It’s by making herself a gloomy one as well. If she plays with several shy-girls then she will turn to be a shy girl too. And remember, kids can also find this shy behavior from their parents also. A shy mom can not tell her kids to be brave and cheerful kids, right? So, parents themselves need to make sure that they’re not shy parents as well. If we act brave and full of smile, then our kids will imitate it and become so brave and full of smiles themselves.

This is a general clue that parents can use to get away from this problem. We can take our kids to some activity-groups out there. Such as dancing, singing, music, etc. Let them study and play with lots of kids on their own age. This can increase their self-confidences because they can also learn about social life and friendship there. And they will find that there are so many things to explore out there, so many friends to make, so many games to play on and so many things to learn about. And they don’t need to be shy and stay in a gloomy world. All they need is learn to face this world.

Sep 14, 2009

This is the longest tag that I’ve ever received since the day I start this blog. But I always love tag better than award, you know. Maybe because tag comes with something unique that give you more information about your cyber-friend and not just share a picture to each other like award always do. And I would be very happy to start this week with this one.

Through this tag, I’m starting to know more about my Pinoy friend Jenny. Thanks to her for passing me this cute tag. Here we start:

1. What time did you get up this morning?
7.00 AM (I need to prepare breakfast for my husband and daughter)

2. How do you like your steak?
I like “well done” better

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
I can’t remember exactly, because the last time I go to the movie was on my date about two years ago. After that I prefer to watch the movie at home.

4. What is your favorite TV show?
I love movie the most.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be?
I’ve told you about this before. Kyoto will be great.

6. What did you have for breakfast?
I like fried rice or noodles.

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
Chinese Food.

8. What foods do you dislike?
Any sour food.

9. Favorite place to eat?
On the beach

10. Favorite dressing?
Cheesy

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive?
I cannot drive any kind of vehicle.

Sep 11, 2009

My daughter, Asha, is two years old. When I read a parenting-magazine yesterday, I found an article about two year’s old toddlers article inside. The article said that two years age is the perfect age for parents to teach their toddlers about hygiene.

First of all, parents must start to train their toddlers about toilet-training on this age. They need to know that they are big enough to leave their diapers and learn to use the toilets. Due to this new learning process, we also must teach them about the differences about “clean” and “less clean” as well. Toddlers need to be assured that less clean is not enough and they must learn how to keep themselves clean after they finished in the toilet unless they will get sick.

The next thing we need to teach them is about washing their hands before and after touching any kind of foods. Explain to them the reason why they need to do this and the consequences they will get if they ignore it as well. They also need to learn about when and how to brush their teeth well. They need to brush their teeth at least twice a day. It’s in the morning after they wake up and in the evening before they go to sleep. Some other parents ask their kids to brush their teeth every time they finished with their meal. It means more then twice a day. This is a good habit as well.

The reason why we as parents need to do all of these is because when toddlers do this hygiene lesson regularly in their homes, they will consider this as a habit and become so familiar with it. They will understand about hygiene and how to keep themselves clean even when their parents are not around.

And the bottom line about this hygiene lesson is “expansion”. Toddlers must understand about toilet training; how to wash their hands or brush their teeth and make it all as daily habits. It will improve their abilities and self-supports. And two years old age is a perfect time for this since two years old toddlers are usually welcome every new experiences enthusiastically.

The awareness about hygiene is also need to be made as a matter of routine, including for parents themselves. When our kids see us do this good habit in our daily life, they will follow us and do the same as well. Remember, kids are always imitate their parents on every thing, right?

Sep 9, 2009

I got another award yesterday. This award came from a new friend I have in this [cyber world] whose name is Piter. Actually he gave this award for my Indonesian blog. But I choose to display it here since I saw several Indonesian’s blogs have taken and put this award nicely and I can not make any difference from their blogs then. Suddenly a new idea comes up in my head. Why don’t I put this Indonesia Award on my English blog. I have several foreign friends there and I would love to share something about my country with them. What do you think?

I can tell you that I am really bad on creating poetry. I really am. So I decide to browse in the internet and search for a good poetry about Indonesia there. It’s not as easy as I thought before. Because I must choose a right kind of poetry that can describe something about Indonesia while most of the poet I found is about love and romance. Pphhyuuhhh….

Finally, I made up my mind for this poetry. This is the best I can find during my research. I think that’s enough for I don’t think I could ever find a perfect poetry to describe my great-great Indonesia anyway. So I hope you enjoy it.

The Meaning of IndependenceFreedom.............The word of FreedomThe wish of all IndonesiansWho want to be free of the shackle of colonialismFreedom............For three hubdred and fifty years my peoplewere oppressed, tortures and dashed by the waves of exploitationUnequal, powerless, that's how we feltFreedom.............Fifty six years passed byI am asking my nationWhat have you achieved in the nature of IndependenceIs that freedom? justice, safety or prosperity?Freedom............The word of freedomNo end, no distanceFreedom.............We Indonesians must make an effortStruggle to maintain that freedomNo other choice, we have to keep going forwardTo stop or retreat means we will be ruined

by Herman Kamra
Ashfield, Sydney, August winter time, 2001. The meaning of Independence for the nation of Indonesia, on the 56th Anniversary Day. This poem is to be read at the Theatre in Parliament House Sydney NSW.

Well, I need to tag this award back to some other friend. But I need some more time to think about this since before. So for this time, I hope you enjoy reading the poetry above.

Sep 5, 2009

I received this tag game from my Malaysian’s friend Alan. And I love this game so much, so that I choose to write it here and not in Blog Perempuan Rumahan or Cerita Film. I’ve been thinking for a few days about these answers I wrote here. And I would like to share it all with you.

Sep 3, 2009

I found several unique traditional wedding dresses from five Asian countries. Those wedding dress are really magnificent as I wrote and explain it here. Now I would like to share you some pictures of Batak wedding dresses here. I have wedding pictures of four tribes here in North Sumatera. I hope you enjoy seeing them.

Let me start with the wedding dress from my own tribe, Batak Toba. This is exactly like the wedding dress I was wearing on my wedding day. Kebaya is one of fashion icon in Batak tradition. The bride usually uses the off white color but some choose the golden one. And the pair is called songket. Some brides may choose to use ulos instead of songket, but for me I choose songket. As for the groom, he just uses a simple coat and ulos on his shoulder.

I like this Tapanuli Selatan wedding dress a lot because it has so many accessories for the bride. The head accessories are the main icon of this traditional wedding dress. Both bride and groom are using the same unique head accessories. Aren’t they looking great?

Just like Tapanuli Selatan, Karo traditional wedding dress is also famous for its head accessories, especially for the bride. Her head accessory is made from ulos that has been shaped in a certain way and filled with papers or stuffs. So that it will look full and big. For the groom accessory is also made from the same kind of ulos. As you can see, the Karo people love the red color.

You will find this Simalungun’s traditional wedding dress has a unique head accessory too. It also made from ulos, just like Karo, but they do not fill it with anything inside. They just make a certain shape and then place it on the bride’s hair using some clip so it won’t fall apart. And they also love the red color.

So what do you think of all that wedding dress. I love those wedding dress especially from my own tribe. You know, the idea of writing this into my blog is come from the movie I wrote in my film blog. I think that people should respect and proud of their traditional wedding dresses. Because many young people nowadays are choosing the European ball gowns for their wedding parties and they refuse to use their own traditional wedding dress just for a reason: the think that traditional dresses are too conservative. But I can tell you that they are so wrong!